Birth Story

Ok Lucy,
So, if I haven't complained about it enough to you by the time you're ready to read this, I guess now is the time. I have had the suggestion that I should write out my birth story for you. My first thought was, do I really want to relive it AGAIN (you all know how many times you talk about it after the fact....gets kind of repetitive! :P) But really, you weren't that bad. When I compare my labour with other people I feel really, really lucky...in most ways.

You were also probably the easiest pregnancy ever. In the beginning I was tired a lot. But that was it. I never puked. Not even once. I might have felt queasy a couple times. But nothing major. I had VERY mild symptoms. Even when I went to the hospital at 34 weeks I didn't think there was anything going on. THANK GOD for Trish who convinced me to go to the hospital lol. Otherwise you might have been born at home :D

So I went to the hospital with nothing because I always think I'm over reacting. And of course they sent me to Nanaimo (after determining I was actually in labour...who knew?) because Port Alberni's Ob/Gyn decided to go on vacation that day. So you and I had a most excellent ambulance ride at 3am. The driver even turned the lights on when he got close to someone on the highway. And so we got to Nanaimo and they stopped the labour from progressing. Stuck you back in sucker. There was a benefit to this! I got to see Dad, because he rushed home (for nothing? maybe, maybe not :P), and I also got to get another ultrasound of you! Of course...you looked REALLY weird. I was almost scared to have you. Mogwai baby.

Anyways, THEY WOULDN'T LET ME LEAVE! I was stuck in that damn hospital for 2 weeks. With no time to set up care for my dogs, or pack a bag. I had no toothbrush. Zip. I lived like an inmate until I was FINALLY at 36 weeks pregnant. Which apparently is when Port Alberni feels comfortable delivering babies. I spent two weeks being insulted by nurses who felt that "they shouldn't even be keeping [me] there, I was just taking up a bed", and eating hospital food, doing STUPID puzzles, playing solitaire on my phone and listening to about 100 women a day scream bloody murder while birthing babies. And you wouldn't budge! I'm pretty much 100% sure I had a hind leak that whole time so I'm luck you don't have cerebral palsy or something (ignorant, maybe. I dont know what causes cerebral palsy).

ANYWAYS! YAY! I got to go home at 36 weeks. But guess what... There was a stipulation. I had to take an ambulance again. What the heck? ROFL So off we went again...zoooooooooooooooooom weeeeeooooowweeeeooooo. Lights on again! it would have been more exciting if I wasn't strapped to a board.

Get to the hospital when the great and wonderful Ob/Gyn was back from his glorious vacation. If only I'd been so lucky. He did the 5 point inspection and told me I wouldn't make it til Thursday (it was Sunday...)

So I went home and...I opened the door and....i almost fell to my knees. My house..was....DISGUSTING! My dogs had ravaged the place (yes someone was watching them...apparently just letting them out to go to the bathroom and not playing with them....). It was the most horrible thing to come home to ever.

So I slept on the couch and envisioned how I'd spend the last 4 weeks of my pregnancy cleaning up this disaster.

I woke up Monday morning and went and rented a carpet cleaner with an upholstery attachment. And I cleaned my couches, and my mattress (which was dirty from the dogs...grrrr) and anything else that I could. And I tried to clean up the rest of the house, but I was ginormous....so really not much else got done. And I went and rented two movies, movies I knew Brad would NEVER watch with me hahah: He's just not that into you, and Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Then I fell blissfully asleep with you rumbling around deep within. Little did I know....

That you were just waiting for me to get home before trying again. You're just like your father...inconvenient. So I woke up at 2:40am on July 7th in pain. Not that bad, but I pretty much knew it was on this time. 10 minutes later I had another one, so I called your Dad, he told me to go back to bed it was probably nothing again ROFL

I told him this was it and he better get on the 6:30 ferry. Then I called your Grandma Sue to come and pick me up. But nobody answered. So I figured I'd just wait a little while....you're supposed to ride out the easy stuff at home, right? hahahaha

Then I had another one..10 minutes later. This one curled me up into a little ball ROFL. And then, thank God, your grandma called me back. She came and got me...and this time...I packed a damn bag. It was like speed packing! I was amazing.

Anyways, got the hospital at 3:30, and we were already at 5cm! You have no idea what that means.

Then...they checked at 4:00 and we were 9! They couldn't believe it. Like I said...awesome. The doctor wasn't there yet, so I conveniently informed them that I felt like I was going to push. They said...dont push. I said...too bad! They said...pant. So I tried that...sort of worked...but it's kind of weird to be laying in this bed panting. The contractions weren't that bad. I think I had maybe 2 that had me white knuckling the sides of the bed. Finally they let me push and after an hour and a half you came out like a jello jiggler at 6:52am.

Dad was on the ferry with Granny Sharon. Mom had chewed up 1/2 the squatting bar. But you were out!

That's pretty much the story. The first thing I said to you was "Thank God you're cute!"

I'll never get that ultrasound picture out of my mind..

*shudder*

Love you always!

mUmmY